Warranties are an important part of purchasing a new pellet grill because it assures that the manufacturer stands behind the build quality of the product. It’s just like buying a new car – you want a warranty that will cover the costs of a repair if something happens to go wrong after buying. Depending on the pellet grill that you buy, there is a wide range of different warranties that are included. Cheap pellet grills will sometimes include a short-term, limited warranty that covers next to nothing. A quality manufacturer will be willing to add some years onto their warranties and cover all the components you’d expect (for example, Grilla Grills offers a 4-year warranty with VERY little fine print on the popular Silverbac model). So, if your cheap grill magically makes it past its warranty date unscathed and then something happens to it, you will be left paying out of pocket for the costs of fixing it or replacing parts. By comparison, pellet grills that have a lifetime or long-term warranty will give you more peace of mind rather than worrying about how you will pay for the next component that malfunctions or breaks suddenly.

With that said, we can guarantee that all of the grills on this list are designed from the best quality materials and design elements to ensure that it not only lasts the test of time, it is safe to use, easy to set up, and also designed to cook the best meals possible. With that said, let’s talk about a pillar that has added to the quality criteria, the material design.

Barbecuing is supposed to be hard. It should involve chopping wood, breathing in charcoal dust, and hours upon hours to keep a constant temperature from your grill. A pit master would never subscribe to the “leave it and forget it” philosophy that a pellet smoker brings to the table, right? The best pellet smoker reviews show that this isn’t necessarily the case.

The simplicity with which you can use this product is outstanding. From the time that you put it together to the time you smoke meat to the time you clean it, the entire process is extremely simple. It has a power failure restart and a dump tray that can easily be cleaned out. The cooking surface is so large that it is possible to smoke two turkeys at once.

When it comes to temperature range, Pit Boss 71700FB has a minimum temperature of 180°F and a maximum temperature of 500°F. This Pit Boss pellet smoker can be used for grilling, roasting, smoking, baking, searing, and braising. In addition, the Flame Broiler allows you to grill your food directly over an open flame. And with a hopper that can fit up to 12 pounds of wood pellets, you’ll be smoking all day without having to refill.
We ended up going with the Memphis Pro. We were fortunate enough to be able to see all of the manufacturers and models I was most interested in, at Sam’s NW BBQ. (Yoder, MAK, Fast Eddy, GMG’s, a few others, and then, the one we ended up with, Memphis.) Sam took a good amount of time, providing us fantastic information about each model. We ended up with the Memphis Pro for the following reasons: 1) The construction, mainly the double-walled construction; 2) the preciseness of temperature, and being able to hold the temperature (due to reason #1); 3) the extreme ease of changing from smoking to grilling without a lot of effort or reconfiguration; 4) the double hoppers; 5) and another BIGGIE, the fact that grilled or baked foods taste like that, and not like smoked cookies, bread, pizza, etc.
Good info, but it’s missing something… the cost to use. I’ve been looking for a long time to get into smoking. I have only ever used a propane setup for grilling. My main quesion is the cost to use propane vs charcoal vs pellets. I’m very interested in pellet smoking AND grilling. A couple times a week my wife and I will grill some chicken breasts or steaks. Can you breakout an approximate cost comparison to run the different methods? Appreciate it!
The first name to kick start our list of the best pellet grill review is the Camp Chef PG24 Pellet grill. It measures 45 inches by 21 inches by 51 inches, in dimensions. This pellet grill weighs 127 pounds and capacitates a 550 cubic inch cooking surface. It has a removable upper rack, and it comes with a stainless steel food probe. Camp Chef PG24 Pellet grill comes with an LED digital temperature control system, and has a patented down cleaning system. It can provide temperatures from 160 degrees to 500 degree Fahrenheit, and has an internal sensor. "Camp Chef is excited to join the exceptional family of Vista Outdoor brands," said Ty Measom, Camp Chef President. "The opportunity to be part of this dynamic company will provide for the future growth and success of Camp Chef as a leader in our market. The hard work and dedication of Camp Chef employees, past and present, has made Camp Chef what it is today. We look forward to the opportunities ahead."
Worst purchase of a product that I have ever made. After same issues the first and second cookings, I will use my good ole Brinkmann smoker from here on out. Shuts off with errors and after setting it on 250 will climb to over 400-450 degrees. They say you can set it and forget it, but I'm afraid that my home would burn down if I was not here watching over this junk. When you call customer service same old story. Take everything out, clean firepot put it all back together, then fire it back off. Take your screen out of pellet box and rake them. If you want to smoke meat you don't want to do this every 20 minutes or so. I gave over 600.00 dollars for this and have no more than 50.00 in my Brinkmann. Please read all problems with these before wasting your money!!!
It makes party hosting, as well as small crowd-feeding a breeze! Pellet grills are easy to use because they often come with easy temperature controls (along with other variable facilities depending from grill to grill), making it ideal for beginners who do not have prior grilling and cook-out experiences. A pellet grill is the answer to every cook enthusiasts who love to cook, but lack the knowledge and experience of skilled pit masters.
According to Bruce Bjorkman of MAK, his cookers use about 1/2 pound of pellets per hour when set on "Smoke" (about 175°F). At 450°F, the high temp, they burn about 2.3 pounds per hour. This is about the same average as I have experienced on a variety of pellet eaters. The burn rate will vary somewhat depending on the outside air temp, and how much cold meat is loaded in the grill, but cooking load should not have a major impact. Cooking pellets run about $1 per pound depending on the wood flavor, brand, if you get them on sale, and if you have to pay shipping. As a point of comparison, Kingsford briquets list for about $0.75 per pound, but they don't pack the same BTUs because there are fillers. I usually buy 40 pound bags of BBQr's Delight pellets from BigPoppaSmokers.com for $45 and shipping is free to IL. That's $1.13 per pound. That means that if I cook a slab of spareribs for six hours at 225°F I will probably burn about 4 pounds at about $4.50. If I put 8 slabs in there in rib holders, and allocate 1/2 slab per person, my cost for 16 people is about $0.28 each. If I grill a mess of chicken parts at about 325°F for about 1 hour, I will use about 1.5 pounds of pellets for a cost of $1.70.
Many other features, like its automatic control and built-in meat probe have made us select this smoker as the top one in our pellet smoker review. And the most amazing fact is the price. In the price range (see the price here), we never thought that we could get all these features and benefits. We took all the top smokers into considerations like the Rec Tec smokers, but this PG24 by Camp Chef can beat all through its performance and affordability.

Thank you so much for the kind words! I think you would be very happy with a smaller pellet grill / smoker. The wording changes depending on how you are using the device. For instance, if you are cooking at low temperatures you will get a stronger smoke profile then if you burn a pellet smoker / grill at its higher temperature range. One thing you could do for steaks is cook them at the higher range thus being able to get a sear much like you would on a direct heated Grill service, for instance on your Weber. Another option would be to cook the steak in the reverse see your method, by bringing it up to temperature at a lower smoker setting and adding some smoke flavoring that way, then removing it and bringing the smoker up to its higher settings so you can finish off the steak with some of the effect you would achieve on direct flame. I normally do this by bringing the steaks up to about 15 degrees below where I want them to finish. Then, I finish them off at the higher temperature to where they are about 5 degrees below my target. This usually means a few minutes on each side but I use a Thermapen to be sure.

Traeger makes this process very easy. All you have to do is add pellets, open the lid, turn the knob to smoke and that’s it. The hopper will automatically feed pellets over a hot rod and ignite the fire. You should have your smoker up and running at 230°F in less than 10 minutes. All you’ll have to do after the Traeger 34 Elite smoker starts up is add meat and make sure you don’t run out of pellets. With 341 square inches of cooking space and a digital control board that sets the temperature from 180 to 500 degrees, you’ll be cooking whole meals in this grill, even though it’s the smallest model that Pit Boss makes. It will hold up to a dozen burgers for parties, or a chicken and vegetables for the family dinner. When cooking is done, the porcelain coated grill grates are easy to clean.
My budget range is $1200-$1500. The same as the cost of the XL Primo or BGE. I’ve looked at the Rec-Tec. They look like a great deal. I did notice that they were made in china. Also read they assemble them in Ga. I have concerns with the durability of the lower priced ones. I looked at the Fast Eddie PS 500 also. Now that one is cool. Those are the two I have looked at. The Yoders are getting above what I want to spend.
A few other mentionable features are that it has a highly durable temperature proof textures powder coat finish, it features auto start. The REC TEC Wood Pellet Grill accommodates temperatures from 180 degrees Fahrenheit to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with 5 degrees increment. This amazing temperature control features let you be in control of how much heat you want to cook your food in, without having to worry about it getting dry or burnt. This low increment allows you to cook delicate meats like fishes and seafood as well! It smart grill tech makes sure that the temperature you set is always consistent and constant. It also has an “Extreme” smoke feature from the 180 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit setting that intensifies the smoke in the grill. This is a fantastic grill for the money that’s dependable for outdoor cooking and smoking (hence its name, “Camp Chef”). It’s not quite 9.9/10 that is the Camp Chef SmokePro DLX Pellet Grill got, but it has more than enough features and benefits to spare to honor the Camp Chef brand (even though at first glance the PG24 and the SmokePro are practically the same units with color differences).
Hey Brad, you’ve got 3 great grills there. Rec Tec has the edge on Pellet quantity. I like the build quality and support on the Grilla a bit better, especially with the extra insulation and updated comp wheel set up. Figure 10 min or so to get to top temps. Just remember to drop to around 300 F temp setting before going into the shut down cycle on any pellet grill if you’re cranking it up to the highest setting. The single burner Barbeque Box turns your outdoor gas stove into a portable barbeque grill. This grill system will outperform anyt...hing you've used. With the patented diffuser plate you don't have to worry about hot spots. The diffuser captures and vaporizes the grease, infusing your food with a rich BBQ flavor. The cast iron cooking surface holds the heat and sears the meat. A vented lid is included to help keep the heat in. This system covers one burner on both the 14" and 16" Camp Chef Cooking Systems.Fits all Camp Chef 14" 16" stovesRemovable cast iron grill plateSpecially designed heat diffuser plates turn flame into infrared heat and instantly vaporizes grease drippingsLid damper valve helps control heat and smoke while sealing in the flavorRemovable lidLid handle for convenient openingCovers one burner on both the 14" and 16" Camp Chef Cooking Systems.Out of the box ready to cook in secondsTrue Seasoned Finish cast iron grill grate holds the heat and sears the meatSpecifications:Cooking Dimensions: 14" x 16" (224 sq. in)Overall Dimensions: 14" x 16" x 11.5" read more
Even after reading the reviews and watching the videos I was still not prepared for seeing the 640 when it arrived. What a machine! A tank? Yes it is, it makes other brands look cheap and disposable by comparison. I was nervous paying a little more for a Yoder wondering if it was worth it, it was worth every penny. Have only used it a few times for ribs and chicken which turned out great. The wife said 'How much?!' when I ordered it, now she says we should have got one years ago.
A pellet smoker with a primary cooking area of 500 square inches should be sufficient for an average-sized family who wants to have the occasional cookout. If you’re cooking for yourself or a couple, tailgating, or camping, we recommend going for smaller units. It all depends on your needs, keep in mind that bigger doesn’t always mean better. You don’t want to be paying extra money for space you won’t use at all.